


The Rainbow Connection

by fitzcamebacktome



Category: Sense8 (TV), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Biologic Preservation Organization (BPO), F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Lobotomy, Luther Hargreeves Has a Human Body, M/M, New York, No Incest, POV Klaus Hargreeves, POV Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), POV Vanya Hargreeves, Past Drug Use, Sensate Cluster(s), also don't worry the major character death isn't any of the siblings, apocalypse? who is she?, never heard of her, reginald is mentioned but he's not actually in the fic, they all share an apartment together that's not chaotic at all, this fic has references to comic book powers for the characters, vanya is actually included in the group and happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-04-23 19:52:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19157842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fitzcamebacktome/pseuds/fitzcamebacktome
Summary: After a few months of settling down in an apartment in Long Island City, New York; after being on the run for so long, the Hargreeves wake up to find that one of their own has finally come home. Soon though, the whole family is put into danger as old threats resurface through nefarious means, and Five knows better than anyone what the consequences are if they're caught.





	1. The Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to my great friend and beta [SnowSurfer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowSurfer/pseuds/SnowSurfer) and to my good friend [davidhallerqueen](https://davidhallerqueen.tumblr.com/) for helping to translate my english into german! You guys have been such a big help and I appreciate it so much!
> 
> I probably did so much more research for this fic than what was really needed... whoops lol  
> and it's also been a while since I've watched Sense8 so I'm doing my best with explaining how things work! Hopefully it's clear enough for those who have never seen it!
> 
> Also this is my first time really writing these characters so I hope I've done them justice!

Klaus awoke with a start, gasping for air. Clutching at his chest, he attempted to calm his breathing. 

He hadn't felt a connection so intense since him and his cluster had lost one of their own. It hit him like a bucket of ice water. He ran his hands down his face, taking a deep breath and keeping his eyes closed.  
  
This time it was different. As extreme as the sensation had been the first time; when they lost Ben, it felt like a piece of his soul had been ripped from his body. This felt like his soul had grown ten times. Or at least by one more.  
  
Finally, Klaus pushed himself up with a groan, not immediately opening his eyes, knowing he would be greeted to the image of everyone standing there at the foot of his couch. He knew that they all knew; they felt the same sensation as he had. One of their own had finally connected to them.  
  
They had all been able to feel whomever it was, but they were always out of reach. It was always a feeling they had, like a thought pushed to the back of their minds; or when your hair stood up and a shiver went through your body when you felt a presence that wasn’t actually there.

Except in this case, the sensation wasn’t so far off. In more technical terms, the way that it felt, was as if the other person had branched off from their psycellium; a psychic nervous system they had, which was what connected them together.  
Blinking his eyes open, silence continued to fill the room as they all exchanged glances.  
  
Vanya was the first to speak, her voice barely a whisper. "They're finally here."  
  
That seemed to break the initial shock between everyone.  
  
"So who's the lucky bastard that gets to meet them first?" Diego asked with his arms crossed, “I vote it not being Klaus." He offered with a shrug.  
  
A collective agreement of murmurs came from everyone.  
  
Klaus gasped dramatically, holding his hand to his chest. "That hurts." He said, his voice full of mock offense. “Klaus, where’s Ben? This is a family vote.” Luther asked, ignoring him. Klaus looked over to his left to see Ben leaning on the couch, brow raised.  
  
“Ben votes that I go.” Klaus crossed his arms.  
  
“Klaus, come on.”

“You really think we’re gonna believe that.”  
  
“Alright, alright.” Klaus held his hands up in surrender. Closing his eyes, he curled them into fists, concentrating. A second later they were glowing blue as Ben flickered into view for everyone to see. He doesn’t miss the days where it took so much effort to use his powers to their full extent.  
  
“For the record, I don’t vote Klaus goes,” Klaus made small noise of protest, “but I don’t think Luther should go either.” Ben argued.  
  
“Wh --” Luther began to object. Klaus simply giggled.  
  
“Ben’s right,” Diego pointed at Luther,  “You’re too intimidating.”  
  
Allison scoffed. “And you’re not?” Diego opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by Ben.  
  
“Vanya!” Everyone grew silent, staring at Ben, “My vote goes to Vanya meeting them first.” He crossed his arms, decision final. All eyes flickered over to Vanya, who seemed to almost shrink at the attention. Klaus nodded in agreement.

“Good choice, Benny,” Klaus held his hand up to the side without looking away from Vanya, grinning as Ben gave him a high five. “My vote goes to Vanya too.”  
  
“Are you sure you want me to?” Vanya lowered her head, eyes flicking down to the floor.  
  
“You’re a good choice,” Allison placed her hand on Vanya’s shoulder giving it a squeeze, smiling encouragingly at her. “Don’t discredit yourself. You’re good at explaining things to people. You do such a great job giving those kids violin lessons; you’re so patient with them,” Allison looked up at Klaus and Ben nodding at them, “My vote is on Vanya too.” Vanya gave a small smile.

“Alright, if no one has any objections, Vanya goes.” Luther said.

No one said anything more.

Klaus pushed down the envious feelings he felt, replacing them with a sense of pride towards his sister. Well, she wasn’t really his sister, not technically. None of them were related, but they were connected in a way that almost made them closer than siblings; the fact that they all had been born on the same day, October 1st 1989, having shared their first breaths together.

They also all found themselves placed into the foster system in their respective countries. It had taken Reginald Hargreeves, - head of Biologic Preservation Organization (BPO) - a total of thirteen years to finally round them all up. The group’s purpose is to study genetic mutations in humans. There, they were experimented on, not only for being potential sensates, but because they had powers. No one seemed to find any of this immoral, probably due to the fact that BPO is well endowed and has many governments wrapped around their fingers.  
  
If all of that wasn’t enough, they were forced to join their cause, with the threat of being lobotomized, or worse, if they didn’t agree.

None of them enjoyed being trained to go out and lure in more sensates for BPO. They had been obligated to work on not only learning English, but removing their original accents, which Klaus hated. That was one of the last pieces of home that he had and they took that from him too, for the most part. They couldn’t help if the accent slipped during more emotional moments.  
  
The one silver lining they had, was the fact that during all of this, their bond as unborn sensates grew even more before they were finally connected at just eighteen, and reborn as a cluster.

Klaus almost pitied the fact that their newly added member was stepping into an already established cluster. Although, whoever they were, they were lucky they didn’t have to go through the chaos that is dealing with being connected to multiple people who also had absolutely zero clue what was happening. It was like going through puberty all over again; their bodies were experiencing new things and overwhelming emotions.

But all things considered, Klaus wouldn’t wish what him and his cluster had gone through on anyone, he’s thankful they somehow managed to escape BPO’s grasp.

As soon as Vanya disappeared, Klaus found himself almost vibrating with excitement. Not being able to help himself from the curiosity eating away at him, he bit his lip, looking around at everyone else who was still there. Judging by their faces, they all had the same thought as him, until his eyes landed on Ben.

Ben simply shook his head, rolling his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop what was about to happen next.

 

++

 

Vanya looked around, breathing in the smell of Griddy’s Doughnuts. Only everything felt distant and foggy, as if she were outside of her body, chasing her senses but never catching up to them, like a memory. A memory she actually had, considering she and her cluster used to come here to get away when they were younger.  
  
She frowned at the sight of a lone young man sitting in one of the stools, elbows propped up on the counter. His clothes were too big on him. There was no way he was anywhere near their age, so how could he have been born the same day as them? But it had to be him, she could feel it.

She walked towards him cautiously, not wanting to scare him off, slipping onto the stool next to him.  
  
Noticing movement in the corner of her eye, she looked behind her shoulder to see everyone had situated themselves at a table to the left of the entrance watching the interaction. Immediately, they all noticed they had grabbed her attention. They quickly ducked their heads, pretending to act normal and whispering amongst themselves. Vanya internally sighed. _So much for voting._

Turning her attention back to the young man, he was now looking at the cluster with his brow raised, before looking at her. Something that Vanya could only place as recognition flashed over his face, but it was gone in an instant. His brows furrowed. Vanya cleared her throat.  
  
“Um, hello. My name is --”  
  
“Vanya.” The boy finished for her. He appeared to be confused with how he knew that information. “That Russian?” Vanya gave him a small smile and a nod.

“Da.” She tried to search for his name, but only found herself furrowing her own brows in confusion. Even with the fact that they were able to share information, emotions, and languages with each other, she couldn’t grasp his name. That was odd.  “Your name is…?”  
  
“Five.” He said, jaw clenching.  
  
“Five?” Vanya echoed.  
  
“I didn’t like the name they gave me in foster care.” She knew that didn’t further explain why he wanted to go by ‘Five’ but she decided not to pry.

“Little Number Five, I like it. It suits him,” Klaus piped up, standing from his seat to walk over. Vanya’s siblings all protested. He waved his hand, shushing and dismissing them, “He already knows we’re all together. You could see it on his face the moment his saw us.” With that, his siblings hesitated for a brief moment, before scrambling to trail after him.

Vanya fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. She loved her family, and she couldn’t imagine where she’d be without them; but sometimes they were too much. Looking over at Five, she couldn’t help but notice that his whole demeanor had changed; he was more on guard, shoulders tense and eyes narrow. They were crowding him. _Sorry_ she mouthed at Five, giving him an empathetic look, which caused him to slightly relax, turning his whole body around in his seat to face everyone.

Klaus gasped, putting his hands against his face dramatically, “We should all have number code names. I’d be Number Four,” He crossed his arms, nodding to himself, “It’s a good, even number, practically right in the middle.”  
  
Five looked at Vanya, as if to ask her _Are they always like this?_ She gave him a sheepish smile.  
  
“My name isn’t a code name it’s a --”  
  
“Who would be Number One?” Klaus talked over Five, a mischievous look in his eyes as he turned towards everyone else.

“That’s easy.” Luther scoffed.  
  
“Glad to know you think so.” Diego responded.  
  
“Obviously me.”

“It’d be me.” They both said at the same time. A devilish grin grew on Klaus’ face, as he leaned his arms behind him on the counter next to Five. Luther and Diego blinked at each other before they began arguing loudly. Allison rolled her eyes, sighing.  
  
“ _Klaus,_ was that really necessary?” Allison asked, ignoring their brothers’ argument, which was getting progressively louder. Klaus shrugged.  
  
“You have to admit, it's entertaining to watch them.” He said, looking at them, a small smile still tugging at the corner of his mouth. Vanya bit her lip, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being right.  
  
“You’re German?” Five asked after a moment.  
  
"Da liegst du richtig!" Klaus responded with a wink.  
  
“You’re all from all over the world.” Five said, intrigued. Realizing this was a perfect moment to get back on track, Vanya spoke up.  
  
“ _We’re_ all from all over the world,” She corrected raising her voice slightly to be heard, “We were all born on the same day, at the same time. It connected all of us together.”  
  
“Connected?” Five frowned, confused.  
  
“Shame the fun couldn’t last longer,” Klaus muttered with a sigh, before he let out a sharp whistle, causing Luther and Diego to turn their attention to him. “I know you two are busy trying to compete over your sizes, but our dear sister, Vanya is trying to give Five the rundown of everything. So, if you’d like to know who _I_ think is Number One, I suggest you be quiet.” He hissed. With that, they snapped their mouths closed. Everyone else, even Five, couldn’t help but smirk at that.

Vanya wanted to thank Klaus, but she also knew he was the one who started it first. So with a clear of her throat, she began speaking once more, but the sound of footsteps behind Five cut her off. Five turned back around in his seat, resting his elbows on the counter.

“Who are you talking to?” An older woman asked, her eyes darting around at the obvious empty shop, oblivious to the five pairs of extra eyes  staring back.

“Oh, you know us kids and our imaginary friends.” Five said with a wide smile, all teeth showing. Klaus chuckled at that, while everyone else looked impressed.

“Oh, right,” The woman let out a laugh, shaking her head, “Of course.” She began pouring coffee into his mug. “There you go, black coffee as you asked.” Five thanked her and with that, she returned to do something in the back.

Five spun back around on his stool, coffee in hand. He nodded at Vanya to continue, while blowing in the mug.

“What I meant by connected was, we’re all connected on a psychic level, by something called psycellium. We can visit each other,” Vanya motioned with her hand towards everyone to show her point, “and we can share emotions, and languages, and so much more. We’re all something called Sensates.” She attempted to explain.  
  
“Meaning what? We’re not humans?” Five said jokingly, taking a sip of his coffee.  
  
“Not technically.” Luther piped up. Five choked on his coffee, eyes widening.  
  
Klaus snorted. “Well there goes that.”  
  
“Luther!” Allison gave him a smack on arm. Luther’s mouth dropped opened and he began stammering.  
  
“This is why we voted on only _one_ of us meeting him first.” Diego snarled, pointing angrily at Luther.  
  
“Guys, _please_.” Vanya pleaded. Everyone grew quiet.

“So we’re not humans.” Five repeated.

“No, we’re not. We all have a different gene that makes us sensates. BPO is a group that hunts our kind because of it.” Vanya said.

“So there’s more like us,” Five said, thinking out loud. “Why are they hunting us?”  
  
“Do they need a reason besides being evil?” Klaus yawned, stretching.  
  
“ _Yes_ ,” Five said through clenched teeth, “and I’d like to know the reason as to why I’m being hunted for existing.” Klaus shrugged at that.

“To them, we’re the ones that got away. We used to… do things for them. Horrible things, and we decided we didn’t want to do that anymore. So we ran.” Allison supplied.  
  
“I’m sure they’d also love to get their hands on our powers.” Diego muttered bitterly.  
  
“We’re still not sure if they’d be able to do that if they --” Luther began to speak before Diego cut him off.  
  
“Like hell we don’t!” Diego spat, “They had plenty of times to kill us when we escaped. They want us alive.”  
  
“You guys have powers too?” Five asked. All eyes landed on Five. Everyone exchanged glances, before nodding at him. “What can you do?”  
  
Each one of them explained their abilities to Five, who stayed quiet for the most part, giving the occasional brow raise or noncommittal hum in response.  
  
“What can _you_ do?” Klaus asked, sliding onto the stool next to Five; with his head propped up in his hands on the counter, a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes. Five seemed to hesitate before answering.  
  
“Spatial jumps and time travel.” Everyone seemed to lean in an inch, intrigued. The pieces were starting to come together as to why they likely were never able to reach Five before. “There were people after me, when I was younger,” Klaus mouthed _Younger?_ at Vanya, “I’m now assuming it was BPO. In an attempt to escape from them, I jumped. But I miscalculated it and ended up in the past.” Five explained.  
  
“Care to give us a little demonstration?” Klaus asked. Five opened his mouth as if he wanted to say more, before closing it at the sight of pleading eyes from everyone. His lips formed into a thin line as he sighed deeply, before looking around the shop. No signs of anyone.

_Was that bad business?_ Vanya thought to herself.

Five placed his mug on the counter and turned to step down off from his stool, disappearing in a cloud of blue, before reappearing in front of the door, with a _pop_ , his back facing them.

Everyone collectively gasped loudly. Vanya placed her hand on her heart. Klaus stumbled off the stool, his eyes wide. She wasn’t the only one who had her hand on her chest, everyone else mirrored her.  
  
Five quickly turned around at the loud gasps behind him.

“What?” He asked, slightly concerned, eyes darting around at everyone.  
  
“We’ve never felt anything like that before.” Klaus said in awe.  
  
“It was like our hearts all collectively stopped for a moment.” Vanya explained.

“There was this tingly, electric rush, and it felt like we were all stretched apart from the inside and then quickly pulled back together.” Allison added.  
  
“Not a fan.” Diego said shaking his head.  
  
“Anyone else feel slightly dizzy?” Luther asked, blinking while rubbing his head. Five’s eyes widened.  
  
“I didn’t realize you’d all be able to feel it,” He looked down at himself, placing his own hand to his chest, “I never took the time to put it into words of what it felt like.”

“I can’t wait to be able to do that, Ben is going to be jealous.” Klaus said with a giggle. “So, have you ever gone back to see dinosaurs? Maybe smoke a joint with a president?” He asked curiously. Five stared at him for a moment before realizing he was being serious.  
  
“Why the _hell_ would I do that?” Five asked, irritated.

“Why _wouldn’t_ you?” Klaus frowned, slumping back onto the stool. Vanya attempted to cover up the fact that she wanted to laugh. She noticed that she wasn't the only one out of her siblings. Five ignored him.  
  
“As I was trying to further explain before, I ended up in the past. Nineteen fifty five, to be exact. There, I lived my life for forty five years.”

“I bet dermatologists hate you.” Klaus said, looking Five up and down.  
  
“I’m not _actually_ fifty eight anymore.” Five crossed his arms.  
  
“So you’re saying you’re…” Luther trailed off, confused.  
  
“My _consciousness_ is fifty eight,” Five sighed, “but I’m back in my thirteen year old body. I’d explain the exact science of it but I don’t think you’d be able to comprehend it.” Vanya knew she should feel insulted by that, but something told her Five didn't mean any harm by it.  
  
“Do you think we could get senior and kid discounts with him for movie nights?” Klaus asked.  
  
“Is everything a joke to you?” Five snapped.  
  
“I’m being _serious_!” Klaus put a hand to his chest in an attempt to prove his sincerity, “Adult movie tickets are pricey as shit.” Five’s eye simply twitched in response. Klaus leaned back, his hands up in surrender. “Fine, just trying to help out, man. Don’t complain if they charge you twenty one bucks to see a movie.” Ignoring him, Five walked back to slide onto the stool, taking a drink of his coffee.

Vanya realized Five was already getting the hang of avoiding answering Klaus’ nonsense. He would fit right into their group.  
  
“So what else is there to know about ‘sensates’?” Five asked, leaning back on his stool, back pressed into the counter.

“All of us as a group, we’re called a cluster. Typically, there are eight people in a cluster.” Vanya said.  
  
“Without any powers.” Diego added.  
  
“We’re their favorite failed experiments.” Klaus singsonged.

Five scoffed. “I wouldn’t call us ‘failed experiments’. But they must have really screwed up somewhere, considering there's only six of us instead of eight.” Everyone grew silent. Shadows passed over everyone’s faces except for Five, who only frowned in confusion. Klaus’ eyes glazed over as he chewed on a cuticle, while Allison plucked at an invisible piece of lint on her shirt. Luther simply cleared his throat, while Diego crossed his arms and looked down at his feet, jaw clenching.

“We lost one…” Vanya said sadly. Five's face fell for a brief moment, before his eyes seemed to flick towards Klaus. Klaus perked up, snapping his fingers and pointing at Five.

“He’s a fast learner, I like him,” He placed his hands on his chest, “Yes, I do still see our dearly beloved, Ben.” He said dramatically. “But not right now, not while I'm just visiting. None of our powers work when we're visiting.”  
  
“How’d it happen?” Five asked. Klaus immediately tensed up as all eyes flickered to him. Vanya knew he saw the pity on all of their faces, besides Five’s confused one. She hated being on the receiving end of those looks. In the blink of an eye, Klaus was gone.  
  
“I think we should go check up on him. Do you think you can handle it from here, Vanya?” Allison asked with a hand on her shoulder. Vanya looked down for a moment, before looking up at everyone. They all looked confidently at her. She knew they had just been overly excited to meet Five, that’s why they went against voting; not because they didn’t believe in her capability to do this. Allison was just making sure she wasn’t overwhelmed. Vanya placed her hand on top of Allison’s and gave a nod.

“I’ve got this. Go make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” Allison smiled, and then they were all gone.  

Turning back towards Five, Vanya took a deep breath and began to explain. “Ben was sweet, but gullible. BPO easily manipulated him, and they…” Vanya’s voice trailed off. It was still too painful to speak of, she realized.  
  
“They lobotomized him.” Five said, connecting the dots. She nodded. “But that wouldn’t have killed him.”  
  
“No,” Tears filled her vision as she shook her head, “And we weren’t going to just leave him like that. So, we took a vote. We always take a vote. Klaus was the only one of us who wouldn’t need to risk going back inside. He possessed someone and…”  
  
“Klaus killed him.” Five concluded. Vanya closed her eyes, the memory of what it felt like to die along with Ben causing a shiver to pass through her. Because that’s what happened, a piece of them all died along with him that day. She slightly jumped, eyes flicking open as she felt a hand placed atop hers. Five gave her a sad smile, which she mirrored.  
  
“Klaus used to be addicted to drugs, it was one of the only things that would silence the spirits he sees. After what happened with Ben, he was never the same. None of us were. We had split up, going our separate ways to disappear from BPO, keep them from finding us all together. Klaus didn’t go far, he went to Amsterdam. But he took the meaning of disappearing too literal. He became a ghost himself, homeless, and faceless to everyone else passing by on the streets.  
  
“It didn’t take long before he ended up seeing Ben's ghost. He was so full of guilt, he couldn’t take it so he overdosed and we all felt it. We decided then, that we weren’t going to lose anyone else; so we worked on getting him sober.” Vanya further explained.

Five looked as if he were contemplating saying something. His eyes seemed distant for a brief moment, as if he were lost in a memory. In the blink of an eye, he was back.

“You’re all back together now.” Five said quietly.

“Yeah,” Vanya laughed, wiping her nose with a sniffle, “We share a two bedroom, two bath apartment together. God forbid any of us get sick, but we make it work.” She said with a nod. “You can stay with us, if you’d like. I can walk you to the apartment, it’s not a long walk from here. You’d have to deal with the occasional fights, pranks, nudity,” Five’s eyebrows raised at that. “and all of the dysfunction that comes with us. But I’m sure we can find somewhere for you to fit in there.” Vanya gave a small smile, biting her lip.

Five was silent for a few minutes. Vanya hoped she hadn’t scared him off. With Five now here, she knew their cluster _finally_ felt as complete as it possibly could in years. She would understand if he would rather try to fend for himself, but she hoped they had grown on him since they all met.

Finally, he downed the rest of his coffee, placing the mug on the counter with a _thump._ Standing up from the stool, he reached around in his pocket, dropping money on the counter, before turning to Vanya. 

“What the hell, I’m in.” Five said with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on this fic as I go along, so if you'd like to yell with me about it you can find me on tumblr @herunswithwolves !
> 
> Also the german that Klaus speaks is him basically saying "You would be correct!" (:


	2. Setting Up and Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Pride month everyone! There's unfortunately not a whole lot that happens in this chapter dealing with that, just a little bit. But still, happy pride nonetheless! This is my first time ever completing an entire second chapter for a multi fic so I'm pretty emotional over that lol

Klaus blinked his eyes open, ignoring the fact that they were watery. Stretching, he tossed his blanket off himself. Spotting a good enough shirt in his clothes pile, he grabbed it and began to put it on.

“So, what’re they like?” Ben’s voice came from behind him. Klaus cringed, glad in this moment that his face was hidden by his shirt. As he finished putting his shirt on, he cleared his throat. He didn’t want to look at Ben right now. It was too early to let emotions about Ben’s death drown him again; especially right before he had to leave for work.

“ _He’s_ an interesting person.” Klaus said, voice failing to not hide his current state of emotional being.  _God damn his accent betraying him._

It didn’t help that he was suddenly in the spotlight as everyone came out of their rooms to stand together. He quickly snatched up a pair of pants, attempting to put them on and hopping around, before flopping onto his couch in defeat.

“I’m fine.” Klaus waved his hand in reassurance before anyone spoke.

“Klaus…” Allison’s voice trailed off, it was only his name, but it said enough. He sighed, finally finished with his pants and standing up. Turning towards everyone, his eyes found Ben for a brief moment before quickly flicking away.  
  
“I’m okay, alright? Don’t worry.” He said, managing to sound convincing that time.

Vanya began but was quickly cut off. “Are you sure? We’re just worried cause he asked about -”  
  
“I know what he asked.” Klaus snapped. Vanya’s eyes slightly widened at that. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath before apologizing.

Klaus shook his head and started towards the door.

"Klaus, where are you going?" Luther asked. He hated that there was always that lingering suspicion from them. Not that they didn't trust him; it was difficult  but he had eventually won their trust. It was the fact that they believed anything major could easily cause him to relapse, irritated him. Not because they were wrong, but because they were right. His cravings were especially bad right now, after being thrown down memory lane.

"I'm going to work. See?" Klaus picked up his key to the L.M. Café and shook it around, before pocketing it. "Stop worrying about me, okay? Please, go back to sleep." He pleaded. With that, everyone walked away, except for Ben. Klaus took another quick look towards him, seeing the concern and confusion on his face. He attempted to put Ben at ease by smiling at him, but it must have looked more like a grimace, because he frowned in response.

Guilt tugged at his heart, but he tugged back just as hard, determined to have a good start to the morning; ignoring the flashbacks to that day in the back of his mind.

Slipping on his shoes, he stepped out of the apartment.

 

++

 

As Five approached what Vanya told him was the apartment, he noticed a figure that looked like Klaus walking away in the opposite direction. His eyes must have lingered longer than he intended to, because Vanya soon spoke up.

"He'll be okay. He's got Ben with him. Another person asking him how he was doing would probably just get snapped at." She explained. Five said nothing in response to that.  
  
“What floor?” He asked instead.

“23B.” Vanya responded. In a flash of blue, he was there.

"Holy shit." Five breathed as his eyes darted around the apartment. It was miraculously decorated in a way that somehow managed to express every single one of their tastes, while at the same time looking mostly like a normal apartment. _Mostly._ There were a handful broadway posters hung up around the walls, along with music sheets scattered around. A black couch with a pastel rainbow blanket thrown on it was placed in front of a television; two black chairs were on either side of it. On the kitchen counter stood a knife block set, only the knives were set in a way that looked as if they were stabbing a red man.

Unable to ignore the fact that the apartment was littered with potted plants, Five approached one. He reached forward to touch the leaves.  
  
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you!” Vanya exclaimed. His fingers froze as his eyes flicked up towards her. Tilting his head with furrowed brows, the question of _Why not?_ on his face.

“Those are Luther’s, he takes care of them; they’re like his kids. He’s got names for every single one. We’re not allowed to mess with them after The Incident.” Vanya said. Five raised his brow in question at that, curious. She shook her head. “Don’t ask.”

He simply hummed in response, directing his attention to the bathrooms. Which he quickly noticed were missing locks. _What the hell?_ Vanya stepped up next to him.  
  
“We took those off after we all got food poisoning one weekend.” Five turned towards her, eyes wide. “Sometimes being connected to four other people is hell,” Vanya said with a laugh. “Five now.” She added with a smile.

“Glad I wasn’t here for that.”  
  
“Ben felt bad for everyone, but simultaneously thought the whole thing was highly entertaining. We enviously hated him during that week.”  
  
“Still haven't met him yet.”  
  
“I’m sure he’ll like you. You'll meet him later, unless you want to visit Klaus at work. Thank god it's only a nine minute walk from here cause the coffee he makes is addictive."

_I'll be the judge of that._

"I think right now he'd be better off without seeing me." Vanya’s mouth formed into a small smile, giving him an empathetic look in response.

Five noticed she attempted to hide a yawn behind her hand. His circadian rhythm has been out of whack for as long as he can remember. Traveling through time constantly where you’re awake at so many different times will do that to you.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” Five offered.  
  
“I’m technically asleep right now, but I should probably focus on actually sleeping.” Vanya agreed. _So you can visit in your dreams,_ Five thought to himself. She walked over to turn on their television, handing Five the remote. “You can use Klaus’ couch for now, if you’d like. It’s not the most comfortable,” She said with a grimace. “But we’ll get everything sorted out for you later.”

Five thanked her, sitting down on the couch and flipping to the news channel.

 

++

 

Klaus walked in silence, ignoring the looks Ben was giving him. He knew Ben didn’t deserve the silent treatment. Right now, it was just difficult to see his brother.  
  
“You know you don’t have to stick around with me, right?” Klaus suddenly blurted out.  
  
“Klaus, we’ve been over this a thousand times. I _choose_ to stick around.” Ben said earnestly. Klaus hummed but said nothing more. “What’s this about?"

“The new guy in our cluster, he asked about you.” _How you died_ went unsaid but it might as well had been what Klaus said.

“I don’t blame you, Klaus. If I could have, I would have voted for it. I’ll say it until you stop hating yourself.” Ben said, trying to catch his eye.

_But what if we could have saved you?_

Klaus laughed humorlessly. “Good luck with that, lot’s of self loathing packed away in this skinny thing.” He said, patting his stomach.

“You know what I meant.” Ben said sternly. He took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair.

They continued to walk in silence after that.

Klaus eventually paused in front of the building he passed by to get to work. There was always a rainbow banner that hung in the window; it didn’t fail to make him smile every day.

“What’s he like?” Ben finally asked, his curiosity winning over. Klaus genuinely smiled in response.  
  
“He’s…” Klaus snapped his fingers, trying to think of a way to describe Five, while at the same time fumbling for his Central Perk coffee keychain, which was linked to his key to the café, “Quick-witted.” He nodded his head towards Ben, satisfied at finally being able to supply him with a word. The irony was not lost on him. Ben’s brows raised as he let out a quiet _huh_ , an impressed look on his face. A teasing grin grew on Klaus’ face as he swung open the door. “He’s also a fifty eight year old, time traveling man, in a thirteen year old body.” He added quickly before dashing into the café, leaving Ben to freeze with his mouth hanging open as the door shut in his face.

The only regret Klaus had was that he wasn’t able to see Ben’s initial reaction to the information he had dropped on him. But Ben’s face as he reappeared next to him made it worth it, as he giggled, flicking on the lights and putting on his apron.

 

++

 

Five had nodded off here and there. He thought about the fact that he didn’t like that he wasn’t as educated about this era, the television had filled in some blanks. But he was determined to do research about everything he’d missed.

So when Vanya finally woke up, he asked her if he could borrow anything that could help him out. She motioned for him to follow her, saying he could use their laptop as much as he wanted.

“Oh!” Vanya said, stopping so suddenly Five almost walked into her. “Hello, Leonard.” Five blinked. He could have sworn he hadn’t heard anyone speaking. There wasn’t anyone in their cluster named Leonard. Vanya wasn’t on a phone either. “I’m doing good, thanks. You?” There she goes again, Five poked his head around her, looking around and not seeing anyone around.  
  
“Who are you talking to?” Five frowned.  
  
“What? No, he’s not here for a violin lesson. He’s a part of my cluster,” Vanya explained to the air. “Five, I’m talking to Leonard Peabody. He’s another sensate.” She said without taking her eyes off Leonard.

“Why can’t I see him?”

"He's not a child," Vanya let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Five was getting tired of people thinking he was a child. At the same time, a growl formed at the back of his throat, irritated at this person who was causing Vanya distress. She turned around to face him, which Five assumed meant she had just turned her back on Leonard. _Good_ , he thought. "You have to establish a connection with another sensate who isn’t in your cluster through eye contact.” She explained, turning back around and walking forward where Leonard should have been, right into her room.

“Do you share things with them too?” Five asked curiously. He wondered if she had purposefully broken the connection with Leonard.  
  
“Just if there’s a language barrier. Otherwise, you share emotions, and each other’s abilities only within your cluster.” She said as she reached down to grab the laptop.

“Good to know.” Five followed Vanya to the kitchen table where she placed the laptop down, setting it up for him. Something she said earlier had caught his attention. “You mentioned violin lessons?”

“When I’m not playing in the orchestra for Allison’s broadway shows, I give lessons to kids at the apartment.” Vanya said with a smile.

“That must be difficult with everyone here.”  
  
“It’s not so bad. The kids love everyone, especially Klaus,” Vanya leaned in close. “We have a swear jar for when I’m giving lessons. Don’t let them know I told you.” She said quietly with a wink, causing Five to smirk.

Stepping away from the laptop, Vanya motioned to Five that it was all his. Sitting down, he was almost overwhelmed, unsure where to start first. She stepped away to get ready for the day.

One by one the siblings got ready for the day, except for Diego. They all surprisingly worked seamlessly around each other. Vanya handed the butter to Luther, without even looking up from her meal. Luther waved his hand towards Allison who had been wandering around the apartment in search of something. He pointed towards Klaus’ couch, his mouth full of toast.  
  
“He stole my shirt again?” Allison said, shaking her head as she picked up the article of clothing from a pile on the floor, deciding it wasn't too wrinkled.

After Vanya finished, she ruffled Five’s hair as she passed by him to leave. He swatted at her hand.  
  
“I’m not a child.” He snapped.  
  
“We know.” Allison said with a smirk. Looking down at the screen, hiding his smile from them,

Five realized he hadn’t searched for a single thing; having been too distracted by the domesticity of everything. He had never been a part of any sort of family. All he ever knew was order and meeting someone new only to assassinate them.

He took a deep breath and began typing.

 

++

 _"Klaus!”_  
  
“What?” Klaus responded in faux innocent confusion. Ben crossed his arms, staring down at him.

Finally giving in, he held his hands up in surrender. While Klaus got to work, he gave Ben the rundown of everything that transpired, allowing Ben moments to ask questions when needed; as he prepared for the other half of the opening team to arrive.

 _It’s too quiet in here._ Klaus thought to himself as he walked over to turn on some music for the shop. Once the manager for the store grew to like him, which didn’t take long, Joy let Klaus pick what would play during his shift. The customers seemed to enjoy his playlists, since he would often catch them humming along; some even go as far as lip syncing. From modern folk music, to alternative rock, jazz, even classical rock, Klaus made sure he updated it regularly to keep them fresh. 

Klaus and Ben hummed along to the current song playing, as Klaus started on baking croissants, muffins, and cinnamon buns.  
  
“Why do you think Five finally came back to present day?” Ben asked.  
  
“Who knows?” Klaus shrugged, “Maybe he didn’t like his job.” Ben laughed in response.

“If I were him, I would have gone all the way back; seen the pyramids being made.” Ben said, clearly lost in the thought of picturing what that must have been like.  
  
“Exactly! I asked him if he went to the Jurassic period and he looked at me like I was crazy.”  
  
“You are crazy. But knowing you, Klaus, you’d get eaten if you went back that far.”  
  
“Yeah, cause I’m a goddamn _snack_.” Klaus said defensively.  
  
"I wouldn't even eat a free sample." A woman’s voice sounded through the café. Klaus looked over to see Lacey placing her apron on. It hadn’t taken long at all for Klaus to grow close to Lacey. She was more experienced as a barista than he was, so she helped him in the beginning. They soon became an opener team for the café for the past few months now.

"Don't knock it till you've tried it.” Klaus winked at her. Lacey pretended to gag in response as she began to count the till, checking that the float was correct.

“I hate the mental image you’ve just given me.” She said, shaking her head.

“Apologies.” Klaus said, not sounding very sorry at all.

“Bullshit.” Klaus smirked at that.

After a moment, a loud yawn came from Lacey.

“Why doesn’t Ben ever help us in the mornings again?” She asked as she worked.  
  
“Because he’s lazy.” Klaus said with a shrug. Ben made a noise of complaint in response.  
  
“And the real reason?” Lacey asked, brow raised. Ben gave her a satisfied smile of approval, even though she couldn’t see him.  
  
“You’re no fun to mess with.” Klaus whined.  
  
“Growing up with an older brother will teach you to be less gullible in life.” Lacey said, brewing the coffee for the day. Klaus couldn’t argue with that.

“It’s too much energy before the start of the day.” Taking a deep breath as the scent of the pastries filled his nose. It was one of his favorite moments of the beginning to his job.  
  
“Not that I know the first thing about making a ghost corporeal, but I’ll take your word for it.”

The two of them continued to chat as they worked, managing to get everything set up and prepared, just in time to open.

It didn’t take long before customers began piling in. New and old faces combined. One old face in particular that Klaus had come to love.

"Ah, Stefan! Mein Tag wird sofort schöner, jedes Mal wenn du mich besuchst." _[Ah, Stefan! My day gets brighter every time you visit.]_ Klaus said with his arms outstretched at the sight of the old man hobbling into the café. He was a regular customer ever since Klaus started working here a few months ago. They instantly bonded over the fact that they were both German. There’s nothing like being able to speak in his native tongue. He could talk to his cluster in German if he wanted, and he did occasionally, but there’s something about talking to someone who’s from home; it helped his homesickness for just a short bit whenever Stefan stopped by.

"Hör auf mir zu schmeicheln, Junge." _[Stop your teasing, boy.]_ Stefan chuckled with a shake of his head, approaching the counter.

"Das übliche?" _[Can I get you the usual?]_ Klaus asked.

"Genau." _[You got it.]_ With that, Klaus rang his order into the POS system. After Stefan paid, he went to go sit down, resting his legs while he waited for his drink.

Klaus watched as a young woman, loudly talking on her cellphone entered the café. She walked right up to the counter and continued to speak to whomever was on the other line.

Next to her was a woman who had lost all of her hair, with a scar across her neck, but the resemblance was still there. She wore a frown. 

“What can I get for you?” Klaus asked in the middle of preparing Stefan’s drink. The woman scrunched up her face in irritation, holding her finger out towards him.

The frown soon turned into a look of disappointment from who Klaus assumed to be her mother. He went back to focusing on what he was doing.  
  
“Um, _excuse me_?” The woman finally said, having the nerve to sound offended. Klaus plastered his fake smile on.  
  
“What can I get for you?” He repeated. The woman simply rolled her eyes.  
  
“An Americano to go.”

“What size would you like?”  
  
“Medium.” Each of her responses got progressively more sharp. Her mother gave Klaus an empathetic look.

“You want room for cream with that?” Klaus finally asked, his fake smile never wavering. The woman gave up speaking, nodding instead. She stood off to the side after paying, going back to talking on her phone. Klaus was glad that order went to Lacey, he’d be too tempted to do something to the order if it had been for him. Not that he ever would. Especially with her mother still hanging around. He couldn’t help but register her name in his mind, although he doubted he’d ever see her again. “Stefan!” He called out to the old man.

Taking the next order in line, Klaus looked at the woman, who he now knew as Jessica, standing to the side up and down, his eyes locking on her blouse. He would love to get something like that for his closet.

“I love your blouse, where did you get it?” Klaus asked with genuine interest. Her mother whipped her head towards Klaus. A surprised look on her face that he was still trying with her after her disrespectful attitude. Jessica must had heard it, because her whole demeanor changed in an instant. Smiling bittersweetly, she pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment, thanking him. She went on to explain that her mother had gotten it for her just before she had passed away. Anytime she was worried or stressed about something, she wore it to comfort her. Jessica apologized for not knowing where her mother had gotten it.  
  
“Not a problem,” Klaus waved his hand. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother, she had great taste from the looks of it.” His eyes flicked to her mother for a brief moment. Jessica’s eyes grew watery. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she bit her lip, appearing to be deciding on something. In that moment, Lacey appeared, placing her order on the counter. Before Jessica took it, she reached into her pocket, placing a tip into the tip jar. Muttering a quiet thank you, she grabbed her drink, rushing out of the café, phone back at her ear.

Jessica's mother beamed towards her daughter as she darted away. She turned towards Klaus, tears in her eyes. Klaus gave her a soft smile and a nod. In an instant, she was gone.  
  
“Is that mine?” A young man asked, appearing in front of the counter so suddenly, Klaus had to stop himself from jumping, thinking he was another ghost for a moment. This place rarely has any ghosts, save for the ones that followed customers in. _Does it look like it’s yours?_ Klaus internally sighed.

“Unless you’re a handsome old German, I’m afraid not, dear.” Klaus dramatically pouted. The man’s eyes grew wide as he blushed in embarrassment, before scampering back to his seat.

"Ich weiß nicht wie du mit Menschen am Morgen klarkommst." _[I don’t know how you deal with people in the morning.]_ Stefan said in disbelief as he returned to the counter.

"Auf die selbe Weise wie ich’s nachts auch tue." _[The same way I deal with them at night.]_ Klaus responded with a wink. He’s pretty sure he hears Stefan mumble something that sounds like ‘ _Damn disrespectful millennials_ ’. Klaus smiled to himself at that. "Wie geht’s der Frau?" _[How’s the wife?]_ He asked, eager to keep the conversation going.

"Schöner als nie zuvor." _[Beautiful as ever.]_ Stefan said with a wide smile. Stefan’s expression warmed Klaus’ heart; he hoped to find a love like that one day.

"Schlaue Antwort." _[Smart answer.]_ Klaus said with a smirk, while handing Stefan his order. He quickly plucked a croissant to bag from the display case. "Ein mittelgroßer Kaffee mit Vanille!" _[One medium coffee with vanilla!]_ Klaus recites by memory. "Und ein Croissant für die Frau, geht auf mich." _[And a croissant for the wife, my treat.]_ He added.

"Du verwöhnst mich, Klaus. Dankeschön." _[You spoil me, Klaus.]_ Stefan responded warmly, taking the croissant and leaving a five dollar tip in the tip jar. With a wave of his hat, Stefan turned to leave.

"Immer jung bleiben!" _[Stay young!]_ Klaus called after him. Stefan waved a dismissive hand in the air.

After that, the day became a blur, passing by like any other day. Klaus and Lacey found moments to dance along to songs playing while working, and Ben read in his corner, occasionally people watching.

Until Lacey slid up right next to Klaus, quickly joined by Ben.

"There's a guy who has been eyeing you for the past _three hours._ " She quietly hissed. Ben nodded in agreement, motioning with his head towards the man. Klaus darted his eyes quickly towards the man in question, looking away before he noticed. He was a good looking guy, he’d give him that.

"In a 'I think you're cute' kinda way, or ‘I’ll keep you prisoner in my house and break your ankles’ kinda way?" Klaus asked.

"She cut off his foot in the book.” Lacey and Ben both eerily said at the same time, with the fact that Lacey couldn’t see him. Klaus glared at them.

"Well, he hasn't ordered anything yet, I would have remembered."

“Should I call the police?” Lacey asked, her eyes slightly widening.  
  
“He seems harmless. Just shy.” Ben said with a shrug, looking back over at the guy.

“Ben thinks it’ll be okay. He’s been watching him too.” Klaus said. Lacey seemed to slightly relax, blowing out a breath.  
  
“If you say so. But if he makes one wrong move, I’ll beat his ass.” She growled, walking back to the espresso machine. Klaus smirked.

It was as if talking about the stalker summoned him, because in the next moment he was walking up to the counter. On instinct, Klaus’ hands glowed blue as Ben took a corporeal form next to him. He looked at him with sudden panic in his eyes, not noticing the stalker man had paused for a brief moment at the sudden sight of Ben.  
  
“ _Shit_.” Klaus whispered, leaning against the counter, staring down at his hands.

In his near peripheral vision, Klaus could see the feet of the mystery man. Taking a quick breath, he plastered a smile on his face, looking up.

“Hi, what can I get for --” Green eyes locked with blue. Klaus’ breath hitched as a shiver ran through his entire body. The blue surrounding his hands instantly faded, causing Ben to lose his corporal form and look over. “Excuse me.” He managed to croak out, running to the bathroom, “Going on break, Lacey!” Klaus called over his shoulder, leaving the man standing there, eyes wide.

Klaus shut the door to the bathroom and locked it, leaning with his back against it. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his breathing along with his heart.

“Klaus, what’s going on?” Ben asked, his voice full of worry.

“Are you alright?” Another voice full of concern asked. Klaus jumped as his eyes flicked open to see the same man standing in front of him.

“Christ, on a cracker!” He shouted, holding his hand against his still racing heart. He found himself staring a little too long at the man before he finally managed to try to speak. “You're…”

“Like you.” The man finished for him, smiling. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hoped that had been a double entendre; but he pushed that thought away.

“Another sensate.” Ben said, intrigued.

“You’re not going to cut off my foot because you’re obsessed with me are you?” Klaus asked, laughing nervously.  
  
“What?” Blue eyes widened, “Obsessed?” The man’s brows furrowed in confusion, before the realization hit him, causing a blush to form on his face. “I thought I was being subtle.” Ben snorted. Klaus found very quickly that he liked watching him squirm.  
  
“You might as well have been wearing binoculars.” Klaus crossed his arms. The guy’s face turned an even redder shade of crimson as he began stammering. “Can I know the name of my admirer?”

“Dave.” He said, scratching the back of his head, looking down.  
  
“Why was he watching you for so long?” Ben asked. Klaus repeated the question to Dave.  
  
“When I first came in and I saw you I thought you were…” Dave cleared his throat, face somehow blushing even more. Klaus felt his heart flutter, imagining how that sentence would have ended. “Anyway, after that I saw you interacting with that old man, and then that young woman… I was too nervous to even order a cup of coffee at that point.” He let out a quick laugh. It wasn’t often that Klaus was rendered speechless.  
  
“Do you need me to ring up your order?” Klaus asked. His brain had short circuited, only able to focus on work at the moment.

“Oh, I’m uh… I’m already gone,” Dave motioned towards the exit with his thumb. “Lacey took care of me. She gave me an earful.” He said with a sheepish smile. Klaus giggled, wishing he could have witnessed that. Dave stood up straight, taking a deep breath. “I was actually more nervous because I wanted to ask you out.” Klaus’ eyes widened.  
  
“I wasn’t expecting that.” Ben said, his brows raised.

“ _Me?_ You wanted to ask _me_ out?” Klaus said in disbelief.  
  
“If you’re not seeing anyone… and if this isn’t too weird or sudden.” Dave bit his lip.  
  
“I’m not, and it is,” Dave’s face fell. “But I love weird.” Klaus added with a wink. Dave’s face brightened instantly. Warmth spread through Klaus at the thought that he caused that.  
  
“Really?” Dave breathed out. Klaus nodded, unable to keep himself from mirroring his smile. “Okay,” He let out a laugh. “I’ll let you know about it through…” Dave motioned between them. Klaus nodded once more in understanding.

He felt something missing the moment Dave was gone.

“Did that really just happen?” Ben asked, still staring at where Dave had just been.  
  
“If it didn’t, it was good while it lasted.” They grinned at each other.

Klaus cautiously came out of the bathroom, smiling to himself. He was greeted by the sight of a mostly empty café. Lacey was restocking the condiment bar.

“So how did that blind date go?” Klaus asked as he began to clean the counters while there was some downtime at the moment.

“She never showed.” Lacey said with a shrug.  
  
Klaus gasped, pausing for a moment to look at her. “That _bitch!_ ”  
  
“I’m going to live in the city that never sleeps, forever sleeping alone; because I’ll have no one to be awake with.” She said, defeated.  
  
“I thought you were more determined about things? Where’s the Lacey that was too stubborn to go home when she had a broken foot?” He nudged her with his shoulder.  
  
“I’m _determined_ of the fact that I am going to be forever alone.”

“You’re too stubborn to give up.” Klaus rolled his eyes.  
  
“You’ve got me there.” Lacey pointed at him, “Enough about me, what happened with stalker guy? You guys talked for a brief moment and then you took off. I had to serve him, but I made sure to tell him to not be such a dumbass and wait three hours to talk to someone.”  
  
Klaus snorted. “Thank you for that.” He got quiet for a moment before speaking up. “He asked me out for tonight.”  
  
“Holy _shit_.” Lacey said in awe.  
  
“I’m gonna go.”  
  
“ _Really?”_ Her brows raised to her hairline. “Just like that?”  
  
“We had an instant connection.” Klaus bit his lip to keep himself from smiling at his own joke. Ben facepalmed, shaking his head.

The whole cluster all agreed that they could tell at least one person of their choice about their whole situation. But it could only be one person, so they had to be careful with whom they chose. Klaus was constantly tempted to tell Lacey, especially during moments like this where he had to give hidden truthful statements.  
  
“Instant connection my ass. Ben, don’t let him get himself into any trouble.”  
  
“I’m capable of making good decisions!” Klaus said, offended. Ben snorted, as Lacey placed her hand on her hip, leveling her gaze at him. Klaus crossed his arms. “You’re both assholes.” He mumbled before Ben began to glow blue once more.  
  
“I’ve got my eye on him, Lacey.” Ben said reassuringly.  
  
“Thank you.” She said with a satisfied nod.

 

++

 

Five looked up from his seat in front of the laptop. He had spent most of the day learning about the world all over again; unsure if it was better off or worse in this time than where he had originally left it. Diego had eventually joined him at the table, doing his own research. Five had learned he was a private investigator. Which explained the inconsistent hours compared to everyone else.

Five watched as Klaus walked in with a large smile on his face, and chatting with Ben he assumed. Klaus immediately froze once he stepped inside. Five watched as his eyes widened, darting all over the apartment at what appeared to be nothing, before landing on him. _Oh, shit_.

"Hey, Five," Klaus' voice shook as he swallowed hard, "One question, _what the fuck?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks again to my great friend and beta [SnowSurfer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowSurfer/pseuds/SnowSurfer) and to my good friend [davidhallerqueen](https://davidhallerqueen.tumblr.com/) for helping to translate my english into german! And thank you so much to [prophecygrl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prophecygrl/pseuds/prophecygrl) for not only inspiring me to write Klaus as a barista, but also helping me out with everything barista related! I was going insane with all of my research for it and you saved me lol


	3. What's Going On?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the chapter I was really hoping to get out during pride month but unfortunately that didn't happen, but it's here now! 
> 
> Me: I want the chapters to be pretty consistent in length  
> Also me: *writes more and more every chapter* whoops
> 
> Warning for this chapter, this is one that has some graphic violence
> 
> See if you can spot some of the Sense8 Easter Eggs as well!

Five should have assumed Klaus would have seen them. To be fair, he had no idea all of the people he’d ever assassinated were swarming him. He should have warned them. _Stupid idiot._ Cursing under his breath, all he could do now was try to maintain the situation. He slowly stood from his chair, taking a step towards Klaus, who flinched in response.

“I know what you’re thinking, Klaus,” Five said cautiously. 

“What’s going on?” Diego asked standing up, confused.

"Our new member here is apparently the fucking New York Ripper," Klaus snarled, crossing his arms. In a swift motion, Diego pulled out one of his knives, positioning himself in a fighting stance, alarmed. 

Soon everyone else joined them, sharing Diego’s confusion.

“What do you mean?” Diego looked between Five and Klaus for clarification.

Five tried, but was spoken over. "Klaus, wait." He reached a pleading hand out towards him.

"We're standing in a massacre," Klaus said, voice dripping with venom and disgust. His face darkened, hands glowing blue. 

Before Five could react, in an instant the entire room was soon engulfed in the same blue, echoing from wall to wall with screams full of rage and shrieking spirits.

"Sonofabitch!" Diego snapped, taking a swipe at one of the ghosts right next to him, caught off guard. Luther let out a yelp, leaping away from one and stumbling into more, quietly apologizing with wide eyes. Vanya looked deeply sorrowful, holding her hands over her ears, while Allison gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Ben stood next to Klaus with his arms crossed, shaking his head in disappointment. Five stared with wide eyes, frozen in place. As his ears began to ring, he swallowed hard, feeling sick to his stomach at the sight of his bloody victims. 

All of the ghosts took a step towards Five, who automatically took a step back. Their hands were outstretched, like claws ready to sink into his flesh and tear him to pieces. His heart began to race as he fought his fight or flight instincts, taking discreet calming breaths. It was a helpful trick he was taught growing up. 

"Ah ah ah." Klaus wagged his finger as the blue faded from his hands. The ghosts all vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"I can explain." Five held his hands up in surrender.

With a tilt of Klaus' head, the kitchen table seat Five had been previously sitting in slid out, hitting Five from behind. He fell back into the chair with a thump, the air instantly leaving his lungs at the impact. Klaus swiftly approached him, leaning down on the arms of the chair, inches from his face, the smell of tea on his breath.

"You better, ‘cause these ghosties are very loud and hungry for vengeance," Klaus said with a slight manic giggle. "It'd be a shame if I let them loose on you." 

Not much terrified Five these days, he had seen and done such horrific things, none of which he’s proud of; but the calm look of sincerity on Klaus' face sent a shiver down his spine. He could easily jump away from all of this, but he wouldn’t. Some part of him didn’t want to leave this all behind. He also assumed Klaus wouldn’t let him get far - he'd possess him in an instant.

Five clenched his jaw, looking up at Klaus with an impassive expression. He refused to give any of them the satisfaction of knowing he was afraid. A small twitch at the corner of Klaus’ mouth told him otherwise. _God damn it, he can feel my emotions._ Five gave in, letting his mask slip. Klaus leaned back slightly, having the decency to give him some space.

"Everything I told you was true. I just left a few things out."

"Like what?" Luther asked with narrowed eyes.

"An organization called The Commission took me in as a kid when I jumped to the fifties."

"'The Commission?'" Allison echoed, sounding unconvinced. "Do either of you want to rumor him?" Five squirmed in his chair at the thought of that. He already didn’t have any control over the current situation, which he wasn’t used to. Being rumored would take away any last bit of control he had left.

“Just give him a chance to explain,” Vanya said quietly. She hung her head as everyone turned to look at her, including Five. He thanked her with a small smile, which she didn’t return. Disappointment was written all across her face instead, which stung deeper than if she had turned on him. 

A knock on the door startled everyone. The yelling voice of a woman muffled through the door came with it. She was speaking Spanish, her voice a mixture of concern and annoyance. 

"Todo esta bien señora Rodriguez. Solo estábamos viendo otra película de terror, perdón por preocuparla. Le bajaremos el volumen." _[Everything is fine, Mrs. Rodriguez. We were just watching another horror movie, sorry to concern you. We’ll turn it down.]_ Diego yelled. At the sound of footsteps receding, he let out a breath.

Everyone directed their attention back to Five. Klaus made a circular motion with his hand for him to continue.

"Our…” Five paused, catching himself. “ _Their_ purpose is to maintain the balance of the time continuum. In doing so, they work towards exploiting moments in history and if need be, removing certain people that risk altering time. "

“Removing?” Vanya echoed, voice wavering.

"Bullshit," Diego spat. "Maybe we _should_ rumor him." Five gripped the arm of the chair, knuckles turning white. 

"Wait, wait," Klaus said, perking up, with his hand held out, eyes darting around the room. "Ben's right. All of these ghosts look like they're from different time periods." Five let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

“So that’s where you come in,” Diego scoffed, shaking his head. “‘Removing’ all these people from history, like a goddamn time traveling assassin.” Five’s face fell as he hung his head in regret. Anger bubbled inside of him from all of them. He couldn’t blame them, especially Klaus, but it had been his job. Speaking of Klaus, Five could tell he was trying to rein in his anger. It had been just a brief moment, but Five’s ears still felt like they were ringing from the screams. Five couldn’t imagine what it was like for Klaus right now, having all of those spirits around him. 

“So ‘Number Five’,” Allison began, “that’s a --”

“It’s a rank,” Five said, clenching his jaw, “I was the fifth best assassin The Commission had ever had.”  
  
“You at least had a code, right?” Luther asked, a hint of hopefulness in his voice. _Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to._ Five took a deep breath before shaking his head. 

The room exploded into overlapping voices. Words like “murderer” along with sentences like “How could you?” were all spat at him. Five clenched his jaw, taking it all until his own anger boiled to the surface.

"Grow up!” Five growled, snapping his head up, “Like you guys are innocent!" He bit back through clenched teeth, inches from Klaus’ face now, locking eyes with him in a challenge. He knew they had all done questionable things for BPO. Klaus’ face instantly fell just like his had a moment ago. He didn’t need to see everyone else to know they mirrored him. Everyone remained quiet.

And there it was. The cold hard truth. All of them had had their innocence stolen from them at a young age. They were raised into it, without a choice. Plucked up as vulnerable blank slates, and shapen into something that now fills them with remorse.

Klaus flicked his eyes to the side, listening to someone. 

"Ben wants to know why you stopped working for them," he mumbled. Five let out a gasp, eyes glazing over.

_Five raised his brow as he took in his five targets. They were lying down in hospital beds in the middle of a large room. Among them were many others in the same position. Some of them had bandages wrapped around their heads, others seemed to have healed and bare scars on their foreheads._

_A group of people dressed in suits were crowded together underneath stairs leading up. In the middle of the room sat an old white haired man. He was hooked up to monitors with what looked like some kind of EEG machine on his head. There was something about him that rubbed Five the wrong way._

_Five watched in the shadows, in morbid curiosity as the man began typing on the keyboard. Suddenly one of his targets, Vanya Hargreeves, opened her eyes, slowly sitting up. Empty eyes stared ahead as she stood up from her bed. The old man seemed to be controlling her. He was speaking, but Five was too distracted to pay attention. Vanya locked eyes on someone wearing a white hazmat suit, a black gas mask covering their face. Her hair began to flow rapidly around her face despite the fact that there wasn’t a breeze in the building a moment ago. The surgical equipment beside the beds of the incapacitated people began to rattle. Unable to look away, Five watched as the tools flew one by one directly into the person wearing the hazmat suit, crimson a stark contrast to the white._

_The group of people wearing suits finally began to protest what they were seeing, looking on in horror as the person fell to the ground with a clang, now a slump voodoo doll._

_Five had never questioned a mission before. Get the target, find the target, eliminate the target, move on. That’s how he was raised. But everything about this sat wrong with Five. The pictures of his targets weighed heavily in his pocket now, containing more life than the actual people in front of him right now. He was a step away from leaving, but something caught his eye._

_As Vanya sat down on her bed, Five noticed she had tears streaming down her face_. Weird, she shouldn’t be able to do that. _He looked at his other targets, who hadn’t moved a muscle. They were still completely brain dead, and yet, tears ran along their cheeks. This wasn’t a part of his memory._

Wait, memory. _Memory_. He was _in_ a _memory._

Digging his nails into his chair, Five managed to ground himself to the present. What he saw made his heart sink as a wave of emotions; fear, devastation, helplessness, hopelessness, crashed into him. Klaus was quickly retreating away from Five, until his back hit the front door. He slid to the ground, covering his mouth with a shaking hand, just as a sob escaped from the back of his throat. Diego supported all of his weight on the kitchen table, otherwise he would have certainly collapsed. Allison was trying to comfort Vanya, who had began to hyperventilate, while Luther stood there with wide eyes. Everyone had tears falling down their faces just as they had been in the memory. _Oh…_

Five dropped his head in his hands, eyes locked on the ground, unfocused. The realization that he had actually brought all of them into his memory causing bile to rise to the back of his throat. 

“BPO gets us all, Benny.” Klaus whispered, his voice breaking. No one spoke for a few minutes, just the sound of their breathing in the air; along with Allison quietly whispering to Vanya. Thankfully she seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.

“I thought we were keeping a low profile,” Luther muttered. All heads turned towards him. Klaus let out a humorless giggle as he sat up more comfortably. His hands began to radiate blue, allowing Ben to become tangible again, his face twisting into a grimace. It must be difficult holding back all the other spirits, Five realized. 

Ben scoffed. “Luther, you work in a popular museum. Not to mention, Klaus uses his powers at work.”

“You were never opposed…” Klaus mumbled, training his eyes to the ground.

“Allison and Vanya work in the theatre district,” Ben continued, motioning towards them, growing more and more irritated. Vanya shrunk against Allison. “For god's sake, we might as well be a flashing neon sign at them.” 

“So then why haven't they come for any of us yet?” Five asked, “What’s the causing factor that led to that future, and how can we stop it?”

"Y-you want to help s-stop it?” Diego asked, his emotional state clear from his stuttering.  
  
“I risked leaving everything I had behind to find you guys, didn’t I?” _Well, left it behind long enough until it eventually catches up._ “Now, in order to prevent this,” Five stood up from the chair and began pacing. “I’ll need to know new variables that have been brought into the equation, possible causing factors, such as Klaus using his powers at work.”  
  
“Variables?” Luther asked.

“New people introduced into your lives, new jobs, things like that. It helps if any of them seem suspicious.”

Everyone except for Vanya suddenly blurted out, “Leonard.” Five paused, considering, before nodding in agreement. She looked at everyone, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Really? You think _Leonard -_ ”

_"Yes!”_ A unified chorus came from everyone. 

“We’ll need to keep an eye on him,” Five suggested. 

“Alright, well, while you’re all figuring out variables and factors in class, I’d like to go out and distract myself,” Klaus said as he stood up from the ground, wiping his hands down his face.

Everyone began to protest, talking over each other. Klaus shushed them, placing his hands on his hips.

“Listen, I’m going to see Luther at the museum, which is half an hour away. _In a cab_. If BPO is desperate enough to take me while I’m sitting in a taxi, then so be it.” He moved his arms in an _Oh, well_ motion. “Otherwise, I think I’ll be okay.” 

“That’s not funny, Klaus,” Allison said sternly.  
  
“Klaus, I’m busy today,” Luther said at the same time. Klaus shrugged.  
  
“As you should be, you’re at work,” he said as he grabbed his coat - it was normally cold in the museum. “But I’ve got a date tonight. So I would like to take my mind off of all this,” he motioned around with his hand, “before I go.”  
  
“You’ve got a date tonight?” Vanya’s brows shot to her hairline.  
  
“Since when?” Diego narrowed his eyes.  
  
“Since…” Klaus looked down at his wrist, pretending to look at a watch, “earlier at work.”  
  
“You met them at work?” Allison scoffed in disbelief.

“Are you sure going out with someone tonight is smart? Especially since…” Luther asked warily.

“Look, I appreciate the concern, but I am not missing this. Besides, the guy is another sensate.” _Another sensate? Are they more common in the world than he thought?_

“Another sensate?” Vanya seemed to have read his mind. _They can’t do that can they?_

“Ben can back me up on this.” Klaus nodded towards him.  
  
“He seems harmless,” Ben confirmed.  
  
“If you guys are so worried, you’re welcome to join,” Klaus said as he patted his pants, checking for his wallet. Five scrunched up his nose.  
  
“I’d rather not see what you two get up to.” 

“Little Number Five!” Klaus let out a scandalous gasp. “Not on the first date, who do you take me for?” He added a wink before slipping out of the apartment. Five rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

“How do you guys ever manage him?” Five asked with a sigh.

“We don’t,” Vanya said with a brief laugh.  
  
  
  
++

 

After some time, Klaus finally made it to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Stepping out of the cab, he paid the driver before stretching and taking in a deep breath.  
  
“I miss coming here,” Ben said from next to him.

“There’s only so much you can see in a museum, Benny.” Before Ben could make a retort, Klaus proceeded to walk inside. Standing at the front desk was Ernie. He was Klaus’ favorite employee, other than Luther. Maybe slightly more than Luther. Luther makes him pay to get into the museum.

“Long time no see, Ernie!” Klaus said with a wide smile. The young man mirrored his smile once he saw him.  
  
“Good t’ see ya, Klaus!” 

“Think you can hook me up with a free pass inside?” he asked quietly.

“Visitin’ your brother?” 

“What else?” Klaus shrugged as if he had any other reason to physically visit.

Ernie looked around, making sure he was in the clear, before nodding. “Just this once, okay?” _He always says that._

“Thank you, dear,” he said with a salute as Ernie let him through.  
  
It didn’t take Klaus long to wander around before finding Luther. If he slowed down so Ben could enjoy different exhibits along the way, he wouldn’t admit it. 

“Hello, brother dear,” Klaus said as he leaned against his brother.

“Klaus,” Luther greeted with a nod before turning towards the families in front of him. “This is an educational activity called ‘Star Stories’. I’m going to show and explain to you all what constellations are, and then afterwards you’re going to be able to create your own.” The children cheered excitedly. Taking that as approval to begin with the activity, Luther directed everyone into a dark room, pressing a button that lit up the ceiling. A chorus of gasps and squeals came from the children as they all directed their attention upwards.

“I can never make out any of this shit,” Klaus whispered, looking around bored. Anytime anyone tried to point constellations out to him, they usually spent a good amount trying before he gave in and lied telling him he finally saw them. 

“I don’t think you ever really try,” Luther whispered back. Klaus gasped in faux offense, hand on his chest.

“I do!”

Luther raised his brow. “If you did, you’d realize that because I can recognize constellations, so can you.” 

"You know, he's right," Ben chimed in.

Klaus let out a huff, crossing his arms, mumbling to himself. Curiosity got the best of him. He meant to flick his eyes up and away quickly, but something caught his eye. The Big Dipper. Letting out a gasp in awe, Klaus took a step forward. What he didn’t see at first was Luther and Ben watching him with wide smile, not until he looked back at them, mirroring it, and looking back up. Luther wrapped an arm around him and proceeded to explain the patterns in the stars to everyone. Klaus listened in extreme interest, the excitement from the kids fueling him even more. 

Once Luther was done, he directed everyone to some tables full of crafts where he gave each family black pieces of craft paper. 

"Luther, you're not going to let your little brother engage in the craft?"

" _Little_ brother?" Ben echoed, brow raised.

"We're the same age," Luther deadpanned. 

"My momma says age doesn't matter," a little girl in pigtails piped up. The presumed mother immediately shushed her. _I'll bet she does._

"Exactly.” Klaus pointed towards the girl. “See, I can draw if I want to." He crossed his arms.

"Let him draw, mister," a little boy with a lisp in a Buzz Lightyear shirt pleaded **.**

A wolfish grin grew on Klaus’ face. He knew he had Luther beat; you can’t argue with children. With a heavy, reluctant sigh, Luther handed him a piece of paper. He squeezed his paper a little too hard before handing it over. 

"So childish," Ben said. Klaus tutted, shaking his head at the crinkles in it as he plopped down at the table. He began to grab at the shiniest crafts he could reach.

“Klaus,” Ben whispered, which he thought was odd. Without looking up from his paper, Klaus let out a quiet noise of acknowledgement. “That baby is staring at me.” Unsubtly, Klaus looked over at the baby in question, held in the arms of a parent. He flicked his eyes back and forth; Ben, the baby, Ben, the baby. The baby was most definitely staring directly at Ben. Looking back down at his craft, he let out a simple _huh_.

“They do say that babies are more in tune to the paranormal,” Klaus said, his voice barely a whisper. 

Ben began to play peek-a-boo with the infant, who eventually let out a giggle. As if it was infectious, Ben laughed too. Klaus couldn’t help his lips from forming into a small smile. 

“Hey, mister. What do you think of my constellation?” the child with the lisp asked, holding up his craft, hands covered in glue and glitter. Glitter fell from the paper the more he moved it. Klaus assumed the boy had attempted to draw what failed to look like a rocket.

“It’s so good, I’m sure Buzz Lightyear would take it to ‘Infinity and Beyond’,” Klaus said with a wink. The boy gasped, seeming to vibrate with excitement as he relayed the message to his parents, who were right beside him. They smiled at Klaus, the mother mouthing ‘thank you’ at him. He smiled back, giving them a small nod. Luther gave him a thumbs up which he rolled his eyes at.

So that’s how the next few minutes went: Ben played with the baby while the children began to ask Klaus what he thought of their projects. He found the distraction from his own craft welcoming, finding moments in between to work on it little by little.

"Uh, Klaus…" Ben eventually said, with a hint of warning in his voice. Klaus waved a quick dismissive hand at him.   
  
“Klaus!” Luther hissed, standing over him with panic clear on his face. 

“What?” Klaus asked, eyes wide and looking around for any sign of danger. Luther sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
  
“Do you wanna tell me what you drew?” Ben snorted.  
  
“It’s an elephant constellation, Luther,” Klaus scoffed, tracing the stars with his finger. “See, two ears, a head, and… a trunk…” With wide eyes, Klaus swallowed hard. _That’s a very phallic elephant._ Instantly, he ripped up the paper, as the parents and kids began to show interest in the two of them. Next to him, Ben fell over laughing. Klaus resisted the urge to glare at him. The parents were wary of him the minute he had shown up, but they soon relaxed as time went on. He didn't want to ruin that.

“I think I’m all done with this activity," he said standing up ungracefully as his foot got caught underneath the table. A chorus of protests from the children erupted. It warmed his heart. "What are you doing after this?”

“I’m teaching everyone the Intrepid’s role in the Space Race, then everyone goes through astronaut training.” 

"You in tight spaces. Sounds like fun," Ben said sarcastically.

Klaus scrunched up his nose at that.  
  
“No, thank you. I’ve gone through enough training in my life.”  
  
“You could check out other exhibits,” Luther suggested with a shrug. “Go see the Intrepid; it fought in World War II, and then later in the Cold War, and the Vietnam War.” A sudden shiver ran down his spine. He shook his head.

“Too much…” Klaus paused to look around, _“history._ I’d rather stay as far as I can get away from the actual aircrafts around here.” Luther gave him a knowing look. Biting at his nail, the images from earlier began to swarm back into his brain. He looked around for another distraction, when suddenly he locked eyes with blue.  
  
“Oh… Dave.” Klaus breathed, smiling warmly. He felt all the tension leave him in an instant. Which was odd, considering this was only the second time they’ve met. Someone shouldn’t be having such an affect on him like this.  
  
“Who’s Dave?” Luther frowned, before the realization hit him. “Is he your date for tonight?” he whispered conspicuously. Klaus shushed him, lightly pushing him back, without taking his eyes off Dave. Before he could even speak, Klaus quickly took off towards the bathroom. Thankfully no one was inside, including Ben. 

“Are bathrooms going to be our thing now?” Dave laughed.

“I suppose I could have used the phone method, but I panicked.” Klaus smiled sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head. 

“Is he one of yours?”  
  
“Luther? Yeah, he’s one.” Klaus motioned behind him with his thumb. “Thought I’d visit him today. In the flesh,” he added.

“Hopefully I can meet him and the rest of your cluster soon.”

“You want to meet my family already?” Klaus asked, eyes slightly widening.  
  
“That’s not what I --” Dave scratched at his brow, taking a quick breath. “It sounds serious when you put it that way.” He let out a nervous chuckle, while Klaus frowned.  
  
“I forgot that not every cluster is like a family. Leonard’s isn’t either.” Klaus almost pitied clusters that grew apart instead of closer. He didn’t know where he’d be in life right now if he didn’t have his.  
  
“Leonard?”  
  
“He’s another sensate that my sister, Vanya, has met. Let me tell you,” Klaus scoffed, “not a fan.” 

“We may not technically be humans, but we can still be assholes like them.” Dave smirked.  
  
“That’s one thing that seems to be passed on in every species. Unfortunately.” 

“Unfortunately,” Dave agreed. “So, if we’re still on for tonight…” He hesitated for a moment, almost waiting for a rejection, before clearing his throat and continuing. “I’d like to pick you up and take you somewhere.”

“Where?”  
  
“Surprise.”  
  
“Can I at least know what I need to wear to properly impress you with?” Klaus purred.  
  
“Wear something casual, but expect to sweat in it,” Dave said with a teasing smile. Klaus’ breath hitched as a heat spread throughout his body. 

They exchanged phone numbers, times, and addresses, finishing up just as someone else finally walked in, cutting their conversation way too short. 

Klaus was greeted by Ben as he walked out.  
  
“Thought I’d give you guys some privacy this time.”  
  
“First Five, now you.” Klaus shook his head in mock offense. “I promise nothing scandalous went on in that bathroom. Not by us at least.” Ben scrunched up his face in disgust.

“You really don’t think people have…” Ben trailed off as he looked back at the bathroom, shivering. 

“It’s in their nature, Benny,” Klaus said as he gave a quick wave towards Luther before leaving to go home. 

As Klaus burst through the apartment door, he found himself bursting through Allison’s backstage door at the same time.  
  
“I need your help.” She raised her brow while going back to looking into her mirror, putting an earring on. “Help me pick out an outfit for my date.” Her eyes flicked to him in the mirror.  
  
“You have never once asked me for fashion help. Must be serious.” He gave her pleading eyes, unable to give her a verbal answer. Allison led him back to her room. Along the way, he noticed Five was missing. _Must have gone out to get himself an air mattress._ Klaus raised his brow as he stepped in, approaching her closet. She opened the door, stepping aside.  
  
“You’re letting me borrow your clothes?” Klaus asked skeptically.  
  
“That’s a first,” Ben said.  
  
“The pile of clothes by your couch is too wrinkled for something like this. And it’s not like you don’t take them on your own accord anyway.” 

“Thank you.”

Allison gave him a soft smile. 

It took quite a few outfits before finding the one. Klaus had even popped into Diego’s room to ask him for his opinion once or twice. Unfortunately on the third time, Klaus found himself pelted in the face by a pillow as Diego shouted _‘Just pick one already!’_ Eventually they settled on a grey sleeveless crop top that was a ribbed tank top, with a self-tied front, along with black yoga pants. Allison and Ben both gave it approving nods, while Klaus peeked into Diego’s room to receive a final thumbs up. Klaus thanked Allison again, leaving her to get ready for her play.

A pounding on the door startled him, followed by the sound of a _pop_. Klaus and Ben followed Diego out of his room to see Five standing there, leaning against a packaged air mattress. 

“Nice outfit,” Five commented.  
  
“Danke,” Klaus said with a smile. Diego opened the door and in stepped one disgruntled looking Eudora Patch.

“Diego, you wanna tell me why a young thirteen year old is staying in an already crowded apartment with thirty year olds?” Diego opened and closed his mouth. He glared at Five, who simply shrugged in response. 

“It does look kinda bad,” Ben said with a grimace. 

“He’s, uh, he’s the one that’s been missing from our cluster,” Diego stammered. Five looked back at Diego with wide, confused eyes. Klaus approached Five, giving him a pat on the shoulder.  
  
“That’s Diego’s ‘one person’,” Klaus explained to him in a whisper, wagging his brows suggestively. Five’s mouth formed into an ‘O’, eyes flicking between Diego and Eudora, understanding. Eudora’s face softened slightly before frowning.  
  
“Why is he a child?”  
  
_“I’m not a child.”_  
  
“He’s not a child,” everyone said at the same time as Five. Eudora held her hands up.  
  
“Okay, so he’s not a child. Struck a nerve there. Why do you look like one?” she asked.

“You wouldn’t be capable of compre --” Five began but his voice became muffled as Klaus placed a hand over his mouth. Ben snorted, shaking his head.

“Time travel is a tricky thing,” Klaus said with a slight awkward giggle.  
  
“Time travel?” Eudora echoed in disbelief. Everyone nodded. She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing deeply. “Lord, why things continue to surprise me from this family, I’ll never know.” 

“No one tell her he’s a time traveling assassin.” Ben joked with a grin. Klaus bit his lip to keep from smiling.

“Why are you here, Patch?” Diego eventually asked. 

“Need your help with a case.” Puffing his chest out with pride, Diego excused himself to grab some of his things. Eudora rolled her eyes before walking towards the door.  
  
“Tell him I’ll be in the car,” she said before stopping to turn towards Five. “Nice to meet you…”  
  
“Five.”  
  
“Of course it is.” She rubbed at her eyelids with her fingers before a soft expression grew on her face. “Well, welcome home, Five. I know these guys have been waiting for you to come home for a long time.” Five gave her a small smile, and with that, Eudora ducked out of the apartment. Not long after, Diego chased after her. 

“She seems nice,” Five said.

“I like to think so. She doesn’t take any of Diego’s bullshit,” Klaus said as he walked over to help Five with the mattress. Five shooed him away, saying that he was capable of handling it, but Klaus insisted. 

As time passed, everyone came home, coincidentally enough to be able to confront Dave if they wanted.

Klaus’ phone vibrating in his pocket snapped him out of his thoughts as he anxiously unlocked the phone. Confirming that it had in fact been Dave who texted him, Klaus found himself smiling. 

“My date is here!” he announced to the apartment as he opened the door. Everyone crowded into the living room.  
  
“Can we come down and personally meet him?” Allison asked.

“You’ll meet him when he’s ready!” Klaus called out behind him as he ran down the hall before any of them could object.

Outside, Klaus saw Dave leaning against the cab, a nervous look on his face. The minute he noticed Klaus, his face brightened. Jogging over, Dave stopped in front of him.

“I thought we should be properly introduced, so,” Dave held his hand out. “David Katz.” Klaus raised his brow.  
  
“Klaus Hargreeves,” Klaus said, slowly taking his hand in his. At the contact, a hot electrical feeling surged through his veins, as they both let out quiet gasps. He felt the immediate loss of heat as they let go, missing it.

“You look good,” Dave commented, looking him up and down. Klaus turned around in a circle.  
  
“You like?”  
  
“Very much so.”  
  
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Klaus said, taking his time to appreciate Dave. He was wearing a blue button down shirt that brought out his eyes and navy blue sweatpants. Eventually, Dave began to squirm, drawing Klaus’ eyes back up. There was a slight blush on Dave’s face. “So, Katz, is that Jewish?” Dave gave a small smile with a nod. “Are you speaking Hebrew right now?”  
  
“Are you speaking German?”  
  
“Touché. We would be quite a sight, wouldn’t we? If we were.”  
  
“We would confuse a lot of people, that’s for sure,” Dave said with a laugh.

“Oh, he’s cute,” Allison said in approval as she circled Dave. Klaus jumped slightly at her sudden appearance.  
  
“And he opened the car door for you, that’s sweet.” Vanya smiled. Klaus scratched the back of his head, shifting on his feet from side to side.  
  
“Is there someone there?” Dave asked. Klaus nodded, smiling sheepishly.  
  
“My sisters think you’re a good catch.” Dave began to blush once more, clearing his throat. He guided Klaus to the taxi and they both got in. They mainly conversed in small talk during the drive, nothing more.

As the driver pulled up to an area that was all too familiar to Klaus, his stomach dropped. He was too distracted to notice that Dave have hopped out of the cab to rush over. Blinking as Dave opened the door for him, outstretching his hand.

“I didn’t take you as the kind of guy who went to raves,” Klaus said, looking up at Dave, taking his hand to step out of the car. The same heat from before returned. 

“Looks like you’ve got a lot to learn about me then.”

Following Dave towards the entrance, Klaus paused as Dave went inside ahead of him. Watching as the door shut behind Dave, the little taste of the music from inside caused his heart to begin to dance along. He missed coming to places like this, but it was a breeding ground for all of his temptations. Placing his hand on the door, he suddenly sensed his cluster behind him.

“Klaus…” Luther warned as Diego placed a hand on Klaus’ shoulder. Klaus looked down at his feet as he felt the vibrations from the music inside through the door. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.  
  
“I’ve got this, guys. Trust me,” Klaus said, trying to sound confident. Turning to look at them all, their worried glances gave him that little bit of confidence he needed to prove to them that he _could_ do this. His face formed into a smile. “Let me give you all a good time.” Diego hesitated before removing his hand with a nod. Klaus shook his whole body, letting out a quick breath before stepping inside.

The sound of the music at full blast hit his ears immediately. Taking it all in was almost overwhelming after not having been in a rave in so long. He resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears.

“Thought I lost you there for a second,” Dave said, voice slightly raised over the music. Klaus shook his head, stepping closer to show he wasn’t going anywhere. “Would you like something to drink?” He motioned to the bar. It caught Klaus’ eye; he could almost taste the alcohol on his tongue. Klaus quickly shook his head.  
  
“No, thank you.” An emotion passed over Dave’s face that he couldn’t decipher before he smiled at him. “Let’s dance!” Klaus grabbed his hand, pulling him to the dance floor and away from the bar. 

Klaus noticed Five standing off to the side, arms crossed. Bobbing his head slightly to the music, Five looked longingly at the alcohol. Klaus snorted. _Poor kid, he’s got a long way before he can legally drink again._ He watched in amusement as Allison and Vanya approached Five, grabbing him by his arms and dragging him onto the dance floor. They began to swing his arms around as he stood there with a grumpy look on his face. Eventually he began to sway awkwardly from side to side. Out of nowhere, Luther scooped Five up onto his shoulders and began to hop along to the music. Five’s eyes widened and he began yelling down at him, which Klaus could only assume to be something along the lines of _‘Put me down!’_ Klaus couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Vanya and Allison were laughing and dancing along with Luther. Five had given up and resorted to pouting, which only made him look more his physical age. Diego was busting out whatever moves he could, while Ben kept his distance, but caught Klaus’ eye and winked at him. 

“What’s so funny?” Dave asked curiously. Klaus explained what was happening among his cluster, causing Dave to laugh as well. But Dave suddenly grew serious. “There’s one problem with all of that.” Klaus froze, unsure of how to react. “You’re technically the only one not dancing out of them all,” he said with a teasing smile. Klaus let out a breath, immediately relaxing, giving Dave an apologetic smile. 

With that, they both began to dance, letting the music take over them. It didn’t take them long to blend into the mix of sweaty bodies. Klaus could feel the heat radiating off of Dave as their bodies moved against each other. 

Dancing was a way to be intimate without taking it too far, Klaus found as he had his back against Dave’s chest. He had his arm up and around the back of Dave’s neck, with Dave’s hand placed on his hip and his on top, swaying them together. His skin was on fire where Dave was touching, which was nice, but Klaus wanted to see him. Twisting around in Dave’s arm to face him, their eyes locked.

Adrenaline was pumping through Klaus’ veins to an extreme from all of his siblings combined. His breathing was heavy from the dancing, but now, staring at Dave, in this moment, his breath caught in his throat. Everyone else seemed to fade away, making it just the two of them. Dave’s eyes darted down to his lips, then back up. Neither of them know who moved first, but they both met in the middle as their lips collided. Dave cupped Klaus’ face in his hands, leaning his head to the side just enough to find the right angle to deepen the kiss. Klaus scrunched up Dave’s shirt in his hands, pulling him flush against him. Biting Dave’s lower lip got the exact reaction he wanted as Dave let out a sigh, opening his mouth more to him. Brushing his tongue against Dave’s drew out a moan from the both of them. He could feel Dave smiling into the kiss which caused him to smile too. Heat radiated between the both of them as Klaus splayed his hands against Dave’s back as he melted into him, slightly frustrated that he couldn’t get even closer to Dave. His entire body vibrated from all of the sensations and sounds they were causing each other to emit.

If people were bumping into them, they didn’t notice.

Finally needing to come up for air, Klaus pulled away, a whine escaping Dave. Looking at him now, swollen lips and all, Klaus felt pure bliss, as if he were almost high. Unable to stop himself from feeling giddy, Klaus let out a giggle. Dave smiled wide, brushing his thumb against his cheek. Leaning into Dave’s touch, in that moment, Klaus suddenly wanted to know everything there was to know about Dave. Linking their fingers together, Klaus dragged Dave along behind him through the crowd. Occasionally they had to stop to get lost in kissing again because Klaus couldn’t get enough of him. They stumbled into a booth, Klaus practically sitting halfway across Dave’s lap. Klaus was used to rushing things. He wanted this to be different with Dave, to take it slow. So, with one last drawn out kiss, he rested his forehead against Dave's. Their breathing was ragged, but Klaus managed to take a deep breath. 

"So, who is David Katz?" Klaus asked, his voice hoarse. Dave burst out laughing, his breath tickling his face. 

“I think we’re doing this all a bit backwards.”  
  
“Backwards can be nice,” Klaus purred as he wrapped his arms around Dave’s neck. It was dark inside the club but it was just bright enough that he could see the blush spread over Dave’s face, just before he buried his face into the crook of Klaus' neck, letting out a small groan. Deciding he was done teasing him, for now, Klaus kissed the top of his head. 

“So, when were you born?” Dave pulled back, his face softening.

“July 23rd. You?”  
  
“October 1st." Dave seemed to smile to himself as if that answer made perfect sense to him. "Any actual family?”  
  
“I’ve got my birth parents, and I’m the youngest of four.”  
  
“Are any of them…?”  
  
“No, I’m the only one.” Klaus hummed noncommittally. 

“Do they know?” Dave's face darkened for a moment before he nodded. Klaus decided not to pry; instead, he brushed his fingers through Dave’s hair at the back of his neck as a comfort. Dave’s face scrunched up as he seemed to ponder something.

“Who was that guy at the café? Your hands were blue like him, and then in an instant he was gone.” Dave seemed to recognize that he had said something that struck a nerve as Klaus immediately tensed up. He opened his mouth to say something, but Klaus stopped him.

“Have you ever lost one of your cluster?” Klaus asked quietly. Dave reached out to move a curl of hair that had stuck to his forehead from sweat as he shook his head. “I hope you never do,” he managed to choke out, his voice full of sorrow. Dave looked at him intently for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Klaus’ waist. Before Klaus could react, Dave was pulling him forward to pepper his face with kisses as an apology. He didn’t stop until Klaus let out a giggle, relaxing into him.

They found themselves alternating the rest of the night between talking, kissing, and dancing. Eventually, the crowd of people began to disperse, which meant that it was unfortunately time to go. Klaus was reluctant to, causing the need for Dave to drag him out as he complained.

Like the gentleman he is, Dave dropped Klaus off, paying for his taxi ride. 

As he made his way through the building, Klaus found himself immediately missing Dave. In an instant, he was back in Dave’s taxi, who slightly jumped at the sight of him. Pressing his finger to his lips, Klaus slowly pushed Dave back so his face was hidden from the driver’s view. Leaning in, he just barely brushed their lips together before finally pressing in and kissing him slow and sweet.  
  
“Goodnight, Dave,” Klaus whispered against his lips. Dave’s eyes lingered closed, so Klaus made sure to disappear before they opened. Biting his lip, Klaus grinned to himself as he proceeded down the hall to the apartment.

“I don’t think so.” Dave’s voice came out as a growl from his left. Klaus found himself pinned up against the wall, Dave’s arms on either side of him. The heat in Dave’s eyes sparked a flame inside of him, the adrenaline from before coming back. He wrapped one arm around Klaus’ waist, pulling him flush against him. Instinctively, Klaus wrapped his arms around his neck. Dave darted forward, pressing their mouths together, slanting Klaus’ lips open with his own. Stroking his tongue against Klaus’ caused a groan to escape from the back of Klaus’ throat, but Dave swallowed it as he kissed him harder. As he pulled back, he sucked on Klaus’ bottom lip, causing Klaus to whimper. 

“Goodnight, Klaus,” Dave whispered, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Just like Klaus had done it to him, Dave was gone after that. For the second time that day, Klaus slid to the ground, this time for an entirely different reason. Brushing his fingers against his lips, the taste of Dave lingered. He smiled widely as it felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. 

After taking a moment for the adrenaline to subside, Klaus stood up on wobbly legs. He quietly slipped into the apartment. Five, asleep on his new air mattress, stirred slightly. Partying must have really knocked him out. Tiptoeing to his couch, Klaus was too tired to change, deciding in the moment to sleep in damp sweaty clothes. He’d made worse decisions.

For the first time in a long time, as Klaus curled up in his blanket, he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how to write kissing or dancing scenes, so hopefully I pulled that off and it’s not a disaster lol
> 
> The museum that Luther works at is an actual museum in New York! The educational activities he teaches to families are also actual things the museum offers (: I unfortunately have no idea if that’s actually how the activities go since I’ve never been, but for the sake of the fic, I went with what seemed right lol, and The New York Ripper was an actual serial killer that was around between 1967-1980, fun facts!
> 
> Also don't worry about Klaus and Dave in the club, they definitely got some water or something eventually cause hydration is important folks!
> 
> Huge thanks again to my betas [SnowSurfer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowSurfer/pseuds/SnowSurfer) and [readytoocomply](https://readytoocomply.tumblr.com/) you guys were such a great help!
> 
> and thank you to [agent-jemma](https://agent-jemma.tumblr.com/) for helping to translate my english into spanish!


End file.
